


John Constantine x Reader: Magicae Surgit

by Zyalah



Category: Constantine (Comic), Constantine (TV), Hellblazer
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, Magic-Users, Misunderstandings, Multi, Mystery, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-08-22 00:18:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8265739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zyalah/pseuds/Zyalah
Summary: You used to be a magic user....Until they cancelled your series. An ex-actress of a cult supernatural tv show, you spend most of your time at conventions and working on your passion projects. But what happens when people can't tell between the fiction of the show and reality, what lengths will people go to prove that the show was real. How far will they drag you to hell to prove their devotion, and can you be saved from the fate the darkness has planned for you? Enter John Constantine, Exorcist, Demonologist and Dabbler of the Dark Arts. He vows to protect you, but first he's got to convince you magic is real.





	1. Night-time Misunderstandings

You where exhausted. It had been a very long weekend. Then again Con season always took a lot out of you. But those where the dues of being a former actress on a popular British cult TV show during your teenage years. It's not that you didn't enjoy these long weekends, celebrating fandom culture, in fact you have grown up loving many different fandoms, and after you decided to quit acting to pursue writing and photography, you still kept a firm foot in the fandom world. It's just sitting behind a desk for three straight days always gave you a creaky back, a migraine and a cramped up writing hand. 

Which is why you loved the peace of the taxi ride back to your hotel. You leaned your head against the cold glass of the window, taking in the night time views of Chicago. You hadn't visited the city before and where dying to take it all in, and secretly you where hoping to see one of the many heroes that had been popping up around the country in the past couple of years. Part of you still thought it was ridiculous, there was no way there where masked arrow shooting vigilantes and super speedy heroes running around saving the day, if anyone tried to do that back home in England they'd probably get beaten stupid by chavs and thrown in prison. You smile to yourself as you remember the Bradford Batman Police incident*, and the fact that he was the closest your country had gotten to a superhero. 

You where pulled out of your thoughts when the taxi driver finally arrived at your destination. You paid the dark haired man behind the wheel and thanked him before getting out of the car. With heavy set eyes he watched as you exited the vehicle, before promptly texting someone, adjusting his flat cap and driving quickly away. You thought for a moment that this was weird and slightly suspicious. The cabbies back home never rush off to their next job, you recall countless times you've been late because your driver took 30 minutes to get to you instead of 5. You shook the thought from your head, no use in being paranoid.  
'Who knows maybe cabbies in Chicago really like their job? And besides what could he possibly want with me? Egotistical much.' You muse to yourself, easing your nerves. Traveling alone always did that to you, especially at night. There was no doubt about it, the night was beautiful but also terrifying, it always had been, ever since you could remember. It was the reason you slept with a stuffed animal for longer than you care to admit. It's also the reason you made a note to never go out after dark unless you had people you knew and trusted with you, and considering your friends and family where back in England, you had no evening plans for the foreseeable future. You where simply looking forward to a nice hot bath, some greasy food and just in general, good old fashioned relaxation.

You locked the door to your spacious hotel room and leant your head against it letting out a sigh. It was good to be home, well temporary home anyway. You shrugged your coat off, discarded your bag and kicked off you shoes quickly, despite choosing flats for the convention your feet where still throbbing. You walked over to your bed and sat down, slowly massaging your red feet.  
"How? I was sat down most of the day." You questioned your feet, wondering whether the next con would let you take a foot spa with you.  
"I guess that's just one of the many mysteries of the world, luv." A thick Scouse accent chuckles from behind you. You scream and spin, falling off the bed in the process. A shadowy figure stands in the now open balcony door.  
Your fight or flight instinct kicks in and flight wins out. You scramble to the door, pulling on the door handle, your frantic mind forgetting you locked it. Your panic starts coming out in strangled breaths as your hands fumble with the lock. The man quickly enters the room with his hands in the air.  
"Hay, hay. Calm down sweetheart, I'm not here to hurt you...whoa!" He starts but has to dodge when, fueled by fear you swing a punch at him. You push him out of the way and make a beeline for the bathroom. You slam the door shut and quickly lock it. Cursing yourself for not carrying pepper spray, something you would be rectifying from tomorrow. 

The man knocks at the bathroom door. Causing you to jump almost out of your skin. You frantically check your pockets for your phone, but remember you put it in your bag after it died at the con.  
"Sorry, but I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot here." His muffled voice calls through the door.  
"Y...you need to leave. Right now! I....I've called the police." You stammer back, trying to sound serious, hoping he falls for your bluff.  
"No you haven't, cause I've got your phone." He replies.  
"Bollocks" You swear out loud. You hear the man chuckle from behind the door. "Look, I don't know what you want from me! If you're here to rob me go ahead mate, everything I have is in that room with you! And if you're here for me..." You gulp, before gaining some confidence back, when you realise you are in a safely secure room. "Good fucking luck getting through the door, cause I'm not coming out, and you're not getting in." There is a moment of silence before you hear shuffling. Despite your instincts telling you not to, you walk back to the door and press your ear against the door. You hear a faint swoosh below you and see what looks like a business card come under the door. You kneel down and examine it:

John Constantine  
Exorcist, Demonologist, and Master of the Dark Arts  
404(248)-7182

"Master of the Dark Arts, really?" You say incredulously. 'Of course I get mugged by a crazy person.' You think to yourself.  
"I've been meaning to change that to petty dabbler, never had the time." He replies clearly. Too clearly. You slowly look back up to the now open door, and finally take in the full form of your intruder.  
He was tall and scruffy looking, but somehow also very business like, with his shirt and tie combo,coupled with a long tan trench coat, and black trousers and shoes. His eyes were a dark brown which complimented his tousled blonde hair, and stubble. If you weren't terrified you would have thought him handsome.  
He knelt down in front of you, bringing you face to face for the first time. He extended his hand out, and you flinched. Once again he held his hands up.  
"Whoa hey, I already told you, I'm not here to hurt you." His brown eyes softening a bit.  
"Then what do you want?" You ask, not fully believing him. "And how did you open the door? It was locked!"  
"Isn't it obvious?" He says. You just shake your head. "Magic." He smugly smirks.  
"Magic?!" You raise your eyebrow at him.  
"Magic." He sates, matter of factly.  
"Right." You sarcastically reply. Once again you push past him, back to the main room. This time your head is clearer as you unlock the door. You're too confused and tired to be scared at this point, especially with this douche-bag claiming he's magic. You open the door and look at him, and motion to it.  
"Look, Mr Constantine. I've had a long weekend, and this fuckery is not helping, so either you leave right now or I swear to god, I will scream bloody murder so loud all of Chicago will hear." You state, hoping your confidence and balls don't suddenly disappear.  
"Well it seems you've finally calmed down luv, but I can't do that." He swaggers up to you and closes the door again whilst eyeing you up and down.  
"You said you weren't going to hurt me." You whisper up to him, a slight hint of fear back in your voice.  
"I swear I'm not. In fact y/n I'm here to keep you safe." He smiles at you.  
"What?" You ask confused, as you watch him take a cigarette out of his pocket and light it, whilst taking a seat on your bed.  
"Tell me, what do you know about demons?" He asks as he blows out a puff of smoke. 

You stand there dumbfounded as he waits for your reply. Trying to figure out whether he is serious or he's just trying to lure you into a false sense of security before striking. But what you do know is, this was **not** how you wanted this evening to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Bradford Batman Police incident is an actual thing that happened here in England a couple of years ago. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-21654930


	2. Communication is Key

You stare dumbfounded at the man on your bed. John Constantine is currently making himself comfortable in your room, he's discarded his coat to the side, rolled up his shirt sleeves and is now lounging on the king sized bed, staring at you, waiting for your answer as he puffs his cigarette, with one hand behind his head and a smirk that was slowly growing on you.   
"So y/n, demons." He says with the cigarette still between his lips.

You stand at the door, arms folded, half impressed by his ballsy-ness, but something in the back of your head still is on edge, this man has broken into your hotel room, a room not even the convention event managers knew you'd be staying in, so how did he know. But better yet, how did he know your name?   
Then it clicks, magic, demons, claiming he's not here to hurt you, and most importantly knowing who you are. He was a fan. A bloody obsessive fan. You'd had a few run ins before, with people who couldn't let the show go. Who above all else believed that you really where the character you played all those years ago. But none of them had ever cornered you in public or at your home before. 

You looked at Constantine again. He was certainly very into it. He'd even gone to the extreme lengths to print business cards and learn how to pick locks to pass off as magic. You would have applauded if you weren't slowly filling with rage.  
Drawing your hand through your hair in exhaustion you let out a short jaded laugh. Constantine raises his eyebrow at you confused by your sudden change in mood.  
"You okay luv? I know this can come as a shock to most but..." He starts, swinging his legs back over the bed, so he is sitting on the edge, looking at you with serious eyes.   
"Okay, you can cut the bull-crap, Mr.Constantine." You interrupt.   
"Oh please, call me John." He replies giving you flirtatious smirk. One you roll your eyes at, now was not the time for flirting.   
"Fine. John, you can stop all this." You gesture to him with both hands. "I get it. Really I do. I loved the show as well, and if you wanted an autograph or something you could have just waited in line with everyone else, and I would have happily obliged. But following me home, terrifying me like you have, all to play make believe, it's too much."   
"What on earth are you smoking sweetheart?" He asks standing up. "Cause whatever it is, I'll have a go." He jokes.   
"Don't play dumb, you know exactly what I'm talking about." You walk closer to him, arms still folded, the rage slowly reaching boiling point. He shakes his head and shrugs. "Moonlight Legends." You say matter-of-factly.   
"Sunshine Myths." He replies, with a confused tone lacing his Liverpudlian accent.   
"What?!" You ask dumbfounded.  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we where just throwing out random words that made no sense." He replies. You tilt your head at him, furrowing your brow at the same time. The absolute look of confusion in Constantine's brown eyes is one of the most sincere looks you've ever seen. A spark of doubt runs through you.   
'He doesn't know.' You think for a moment, before deciding to push it further. "Moonlight Legends. 16 year old Crystal Masters, is the chosen one, a lone teenage mage, sent to destroy the evil of the supernatural, throughout all of time and space*? Aired on BBC Three from 2007 to 2009. " You say slowly, looking in Constantine's eyes, for any glimmer of familiarity, a tell that he does know what you are referring to, that glimmer all fans get when you talk about their passions....But nothing.   
You step back from him, eyes wide with shock. "Y...you, don't know who I am. Do you?"   
"O'Course not, we only met today." He butts out his cigarette out in an ash tray, his tone seems to be one of frustration. "Look, I already told you, I'm here to keep you safe. That's it." He turns back to face you. "Something is coming for you. Something dark, something evil. And I've got to figure out what it is and stop it. That's all this is. Really." 

He steps closer to you, so close you are nearly touching. You stare up at him, lost for words, this is almost overwhelming, he gently takes you hand, an instant jolt of energy, unlike anything you've felt before, runs through you at his touch, for a second you see his eyes waver from yours to look at where you're connected, before he moves your hand, to place it over his heart. You feel the steady, even beat, under your palm. You stare at your hand, with his placed over yours, for just a moment, before looking back at Constantine.   
"y/n, you **are** in danger, and I swear to you I'm not lying." His voice has intensity, a hidden darkness to it. Under your palm, his heart beat has not changed, every fiber of your body is telling you, he is serious. This wasn't a lie. This wasn't some weird role play. This was real.   
"Oh my god." You slowly whisper out. Letting your hand fall from his grasp, you step back from him, shaking your head as if to wake oneself from a dream. But no luck. 

You stand silent for a moment, just listening to your breathing, processing everything. Constantine stands in front of you, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, as if he's trying to figure out what to do next. You decide to break the silence.   
"Okay, explain....Everything." You wanted to understand. No, needed to understand.  
"Alright pet, where'd you wanna start?" Constantine smiles from ear to ear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Yeah Midnight Legends is a poorly veiled mash up of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Doctor Who. It'll give you a better idea of what the show you where on was like.


	3. The Truth

You sat on the edge of your hotel room bed, with Constantine sat directly opposite you on one of the two armchairs next to the balcony door, a newly lit cigarette was lying in the ashtray on the round wooden table between the two chairs.  
Constantine was tapping his foot whilst looking around the room, you however where playing with your hands and chewing the inside of your cheek.  
"That's it!" Constantine suddenly stands. "I'm going to see what's taking so long." You stand too, grabbing his arm.  
"It's just gone 8pm John, room service is going to be busy." You say, hoping he'll sit back down. 

You had told Constantine that you weren't going to listen to his story on an empty stomach, or completely sober. You had barely eaten all day, maybe a breakfast bar for a snack, but other than that nothing, and if everything Constantine said was true, you needed one last moment of normal before everything changed, and that moment was going to be dinner. 

"We could have gone got dinner and been back by now." He moans. You take note, thinking he's probably used to getting straight to business and doing things his way.  
"You're right! I'm just gonna leave the hotel and go for dinner, especially after you've told me something is after me." You reply sarcastically.  
"You would have been fine, now that I'm here." He says flippantly. As he slumps back in his seat, taking a long pull on his cigarette.  
"Oh yeah, because I'm sure whatever's out there is terrified of the breaking and entering powers you have displayed tonight." You take the seat next to him, bringing you legs up to sit on them, whilst leaning causally on your arm. You had already gone through so many emotions tonight, a lot of them aimed at Constantine himself. Fear and panic, to anger and confusion, but now you where slightly more relaxed, you could see, he wasn't a bad person. 

"Hey now, you'd be surprised. I have defeated many a ghoulie with my patented and all powerful 'gotcha nose'." He smiles at you, and you can't hold back the laugh that erupts from your chest. You hear a low chuckle come from him, and decide he's probably not the 'all out' laugher you where. "I'm glad you're feeling better." He adds.  
"Yeah, sorry about all that. But really John what did you expect, breaking into a person's hotel room, and claiming you're magic?" You tauntingly raise an eyebrow at him.  
"Good point, usually I'm better at this...occasionally I'm better at this." He replies taking another drag. "At least you didn't actually punch me, Chas woulda never let me here the end of it."  
"Chas?" You ask. You wanted to get to know the strange man currently sitting in your room. There was no denying it, he intrigued you.  
"The bloke who dropped you off in the cab." He answers, once again you find yourself shocked at his words.  
"Wait you know my cab driver?" You furrow your brow at him.  
"Me and Chas we go way back. He helps me out on these little missions." Constantine replies with a slight close lipped smile.  
"Uh, so technically, you kidnapped me." You glance at him sideways, with a small smirk playing on your lips.  
"Well 'kidnap' is such a strong word." He eyes you up and down.  
"If you didn't know about the TV show, how did you know I'd be at the convention?" You prod. But before Constantine can answer there is a knocking at the door. 

"Room Service." A muffled voice calls from outside the room. Constantine gets up, stretching his back as he does. You move to get up, but he motions for you to stay put.  
"It's my room. Shouldn't I answer." You suggest. Constantine turns to face you.  
"Do you really want to answer the door, knowing that there is something after you?" He raises an eyebrow.  
"Noted. Go ahead." You motion to the door, as the knocking continues.  
"Alright mate, keep your hair on." Constantine says in a huff as he walks over to the door. He opens the door a crack, with one hand firmly on the door handle and another against the wall, blocking off anyone's view of inside the room. You stare at this closed off stance Constantine has taken and wonder, is he being protective of you or is he really not a people person.  
"Order for Miss l/n?" The staff member asks, with clear confusion in their voice. Which you couldn't blame them for, you'd been here for just under a week and everyday you'd come home alone, never talking to anyone, confining yourself to your room and ordering room service for one. Rinse and repeat. You hoped that the staff members weren't going to gossip about the handsome man in your room or start speculating about what you and Constantine where doing. You groaned at the thought.  
"Yeah that's us, cheers." Constantine answers, and before the staff member can enter the room, Constantine grabs the trolley and pulls it into the room, he then pulls out something from his pocket and hands it to the unseen worker on the other side of the door. "I'd appreciate it if no-one disturbed us." He says with a sultry undertone to his voice.  
You sigh and rub your hand across your face, there was no stopping the fervent gossiping now and by the giant smirk across Constantine's face you where absolutely positive that's what he wanted.  
"You know, we could have just put the 'do not disturb' sign on the door?" You moan from your seat. Constantine just lets out that chesty chuckle again as he rolls the cart over to the table between the two of you, looking incredibly proud of himself.  
"Yeah I could 'av..." He starts, as he leans down to your face, cigarette smoke slightly stinging your eyes, his eyes glimmer with mischievousness. "But where's the fun it that?" He finishes with a wiggle of his eyebrows, you fight back a blush as you scoff and push him out of your face.  
"You think you're so hot." You laugh as you go to get your food, John slumps down in his chair again and puts out his cigarette.  
"Well." He smirks with a head tilt and a playful smugness to his voice. 

You shake your head and start placing the order on the table between you two, it was nothing fancy, no five star meal, you ordered quick and easy food, something you thought you could both share, you really didn't want to be the only one eating, and luckily Constantine was already happily snacking on the bacon cheese fries. You finally set down the bottles of beer and take your seat again, shoving the metal food cart out of the way with your foot. Constantine opens the beers and hands one to you.  
"To the last moment of normality." He toasts. And you chink your bottles together before you take a swig. "So, where where we?" He asks.  
"You where going to explain how you knew where I'd be today." You answer. Constantine nods whilst taking a sip of his beer, and stands, walking over to his coat which is still discarded on your bed. He fumbles around in the pockets for a bit, before pulling out a folded up piece of paper. He walks back and hands it to you. You eye it suspiciously.  
"What is it?" You ask.  
"Well, you could ask me, or you could actually open it and look at it." He answers bluntly but with a hint of humor in his voice. You feel stupid for a moment, before unfolding the paper, which by the texture, you know is from a sketchbook. 

You stare in awe at the unfolded paper, it was a drawing. A drawing of you, standing outside the convention center, you looked sad in the picture, lonely even, blackness surrounded you, and every other person walking past was a faceless black blur. You thought it was eerily beautiful, if not slightly disturbing. You looked up at Constantine again, who was watching you intensely, gauging your reaction.  
"Did you draw this?" You ask quietly.  
"No, my friend Zed, she sees things. Things that are gonna happen, and she draws them." He says, with a soft tone. He was being mindful not to overwhelm you.  
"So that's how you knew I'd be there...But how did you know the exact time?" You inquire, have the complete opposite reaction he thought you would. You where not overwhelmed you where incredibly curious, and slightly amazed by it.  
"Oh I didn't. Chas had to sit outside the center all day waiting for you, whilst I came here and warded the room." Constantine replies, whilst mindlessly eating the fries, you join him, picking at the food.  
"That's why you where in my room. Warding it, I assume against monsters." You say with a mouthful of fries.  
"Demons, ghosts, other magus. Anything I could think of."  
"Wait, if you warded the room, why did you have to answer the door then?" You raise your eyebrow at him, a gesture he copies. "You **wanted** them to think we where having sex!" You gasp, hitting Constantine in the arm, as he chuckles. 

You shake your head at him, and start snacking on some of the other foods. When a question crosses your mind.  
"If Chas picked me up, and you knew I'd be coming back, why did you hide in the shadows and scare me like that. You could have waited outside the room for me, we could have avoided the whole 'I think you're gonna kill me' thing." You say whilst taking a bite out of a burger. Constantine rubs the back of his head sheepishly.  
"That was the plan, but when Chas texted me you where on your way, I was having a fag, and then before I could leave you kinda came in. I was waiting for the right time to introduce myself."  
"Well that back fired." You laugh.  
"Oh ya' think." He says sarcastically as he takes another swig. You would love to keep this relaxed, casual atmosphere going, you genuinely enjoyed Constantine's company, but this wasn't a social visit, and you weren't friends. Constantine was here on a job, a mission. You sit straight up into your chair, your hands mindlessly playing with you hair, as dread starts infecting your body. Taking a deep breath you ask the question you've been avoiding, been too afraid to ask.  
"John, what's after me?" You seriousness cuts the rooms atmosphere like a knife. You stare straight into his eyes, daring him to break eye contact, but he doesn't.  
"I dunno yet. I'm working on some theories, but....it's too early to say." His tone equals yours, you both silently take a swig from your beer.  
"Well, how do you know something is after me? The picture only shows me needing a ride. And you delivered Chas to me, well done mission accomplished, gold stars all around..." You start to ramble.  
"y/n...That wasn't the only picture Zed drew of you." John leans down the side of his chair and pulls a bag onto his lap, one that you hadn't noticed before. It was a old dark brown leather medical bag, he dug around it for a moment, before he pulled at a huge wad of drawings and handed them to you with a sorry look in his eyes. 

Forgetting your food and drink, you looked over them all. Each picture a drawing of you, dark, evil figures loomed over you in many of them, some you where terrified and alone, others had you bound by three shadowy figures, but the worst one was the final drawing. The three shadowy figures had a pet, one of pure terror and nightmares and it was hovering over a slumped down version of you. It was your death. 

You didn't notice you where crying until a tear dropped down onto the paper, staining it. Constantine's hand reached out to yours, again that same jolt of energy ran through you but you paid it no attention this time, instead you focused on the simple act of kindness, and a reminder you where not alone. You ripped your eyes from the image in front of you to look at Constantine. Your eyes pleading for him to say something, anything to ease your soul.  
"I am not going to let them have you y/n. We are going to stop this. I promise." His determination does the trick, you find yourself believing his declaration with every fiber of your being. You refused to let whatever was in the final drawing come true. You where not going to die.  
"Just tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it." You reply, with a sense of strength to your voice.  
"Good." 

The rest of the evening goes past quickly, the decision to start the hunt tomorrow is an easy one, and your insistence that Constantine stays with you until this is over gets no resistance from him.  
You quickly realise you are exhausted. Finding out about the supernatural, and that you had a target on your back would have made any person run for the hills. But you refused. You where not going to be intimidated or scared off. Besides you felt deep down in your soul, if you started running now you'd never stop. A small part of your mind did feel however, that this was meant to happen, you where meant to meet John Constantine. You felt it had something to do with that spark that ran through you every time you touched. It was more intense that anything you had experienced before, it wasn't the butterflies you usually got when you had a crush on someone, no, that spark was something else, something powerful, and it begs the question, did Constantine feel it too?


	4. y/n's Adventures Through Nightmareland

You were exhausted. It had been a very long weekend. Then again Con season always took a lot out of you. Currently you were standing outside the convention hall waiting for a taxi to notice you and stop. Cold and alone you silently watched as each car, all of which were driven by a man in a flat cap, passed you by, none stopping to carry you home, none coming to your aid or salvation. You stopped and thought for a moment. Why did you need aid? Were you in trouble? You couldn’t remember. You turned to face the passing crowds of people, all cascading from the same convention as you, each person rushing to get home. You froze, in shock and confusion. They weren’t people, not anymore. They were all faceless black blurs, racing around you, moving too fast for your eyes to properly see them, it was almost as if they were moving at a superhuman speed. It was then you realised there was no sound around you. None. This world you found yourself in was nothing but a void. You cried out. Yelling desperately for help, but nothing. Tentatively you raised your hand to your throat, panic starting to seep into your veins. You jumped from the freezing cold sensation of your hand, it was if you had ice for skin. No, you thought. It was if a corpse had touched you. 

Deciding to leave you went to move forward, if a taxi driver would not stop of their own devices, you would make them stop. Make them take you to safety. But you couldn’t move. You legs were frozen in place, no matter how much you willed yourself to move you couldn’t. It made no sense, there were no ropes to bind your legs, no straps to hold you down. You legs simply refused to move. It felt as if the world was telling you there was no escape. That dread you felt in the back of your mind was coming for you, there would be no fleeing from it. It wanted you, and it was coming. 

You were too engrossed in your unmoving legs that you failed to see one of the faceless black blurs heading straight for you. You turned you head at the last second, and realised that it would collide with you, in fear you raised your arms to your face, trying to shield yourself from the nightmarish thing. It smashed through you, causing another silent scream to come from deep within your lungs. The surprising amount of force this creature had knocked you down from your unmoving invisible prison. With the use of your legs returned, your scrambled away, one arm still covering your face, whilst the other helped you claw your way to, what you hoped was safety. The floor was cold and harsh on your freezing hands, so much so, it made your feel brittle, like you could shatter at any moment. The situation was worsened by the crowds of faceless creatures, they seemed to have doubled in numbers and tripled in speed. It was if you where caught in an unending storm of darkness, and every time one shape went through you, a pain as sharp as a thousand knives would riddle your entire body. 

In the chaos you decided that the best course of action would be to head back inside the convention hall. Maybe you’d be free of these monsters. Turning to face the automatic doors, you started to crawl. Trying your best to ignore the pain and terror you felt, no matter how bad things got you would keep going, even though your body screamed to stop, you refused to give in and kept on crawling through the crowds. Desperately dragging yourself towards the doors. Praying that you would find salvation inside.  
Finally after what seemed like an eternal crawl through hell, you pulled yourself through the automatic doors, and sprawled out on the floor panting heavily, the ordeal had drained your energy dry, leaving you sore, your body heavy and your muscles throbbing. After you had caught your breath you raised your head, hoping to find some help. Some tiny glimmer of hope in this messed up world. The hall lobby however was not the same anymore, there was nothing but a deep dark black encompassing everything. There was no indication of furniture, windows, lights, or people and after turning your gaze behind you, your fear was confirmed, the door had gone too. Before panic could once again set in you decided to search for something to pull yourself up with. 

You searched blindly through the darkness, praying to find some sort of ledge or step. Anything to pull yourself out of this black hole threatening to crush your very soul. Shuffling forward, you head bumped into something solid, possibly a wall, you outstretched your hands to examine it upward. Shaking hands were met with a smooth cool surface, almost like porcelain. Your hands kept going and to your relief found perch on a ledge. Using your last ounce of energy you hauled yourself up, praying you could also haul yourself out of this nightmare world…

 

You stared back at yourself in your hotel bathroom mirror. The room was exactly as you remembered, however steam covered the shower door and left the room feeling like a sauna. The mirror itself was also fogged up, except for the streak you had apparently wiped away in order to see yourself. Looking down at your body you saw that you where gripping the basin of the sink incredibly tight, so much so that your knuckles had turned white, it was then that you also realised you were wearing nothing but a towel. Had you just taken a shower? Did you black out, and imagine that hell? You had taken showers in the past that were so hot you had felt lightheaded after getting out, but you had never blacked out and hallucinated before. Maybe stress was getting to you, after all, today had been hectic. Hadn’t it? You rubbed your face in exhaustion. You thought now would be a great time to hit the hay…Wait, hadn’t you already gone to sleep today? You were positive, that you had. In fact the last thing you could remember was telling “someone” you were tired and you could talk about “something” tomorrow. You shook you head lightly, who had you been talking to? They had come to your room…terrified you….you’d ordered room service with them…It was infuriating, they where there, at the back of your mind. A fuzzy little annoyance, that smelt of smoke and whiskey. Thinking of them made you smile, but also made you nervous. Like there was something important you were forgetting.

You looked back at your reflection and froze. 

There were people in the mirror. 

Three of them to be precise. 

And they were right behind you.

They looked exactly like the faceless black creatures from outside the convention hall, too similar to each other to be distinguishable, you couldn’t tell if they were male or female, old or young. Hell you couldn’t tell if they were even human. The only thing you could make out was that they were smiling at you. A blinding white toothy grin, in stark contrast to the shadowy blackness of their bodies. Their smiles were terrifying, it felt as if just looking at them had turned you to stone, there was nothing good about the smiles, in fact you would describe them as disgusting, inhuman, hungry, but most importantly predatory. Turning quickly, you face behind you, expecting them to be there, however you were completely alone in the bathroom, slowly you turned back to the mirror. You whole body starting to shake, despite the room still being filled with steam you were now freezing. Goosebumps permeated you skin, as you faced the specters once more.  
You let out a shrill shriek as the three figures were now in front of your reflection. Demented grins even larger than before. Realising you needed to get out of the bathroom you started to bolt, when one of the figures reached out of the mirror and grabbed you by the throat. You stared like a deer in the headlights at it’s void of a face, as it started to pull you into the mirror. The two other figures then grabbed at your body helping drag you into another hell. There was nothing you could do, except scream, they were too strong and you were all alone. 

“HEELLLLPP! PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!!” You screeched. 

Just as they are about to pull you to them completely you hear a faint swoosh below you and see what looks like a business card come under the door. You can’t make out the writing before you are pulled head first into the mirror…

 

Once more you find yourself in complete darkness, what makes this time different, is the fabric you can feel covering your eyes. Your body is bound by rough scratchy rope, securely tying your arms and legs together behind your back. Making you feel like a hogtied pig and leaving you on your side and vulnerable on the cold concrete floor. The one saving grace was that your towel had been replaced with actual clothes, though you couldn’t be sure what, though the rope burns you felt on your thighs told you, you were wearing either a skirt or some shorts. 

Wherever you where now was eerily quiet. A distant howling of wind could be heard from your position, so you were confident you were being held captive indoors, you tried to steady your thumping heart that was almost deafening to your ears, so you could make out any other noises. That’s when you heard it, the faint but distinct mumbling of human voices. Distorted yes, but still unmistakably human. You couldn’t make out full sentences but you were able to pick out specific words that the voices whispered over and over.  
“Demon”, “Kill her” and the most unsettling one “y/n”. The way the voices said your name, twisted your stomach into knots and it felt like a defilement of your very being. You thought maybe if your could angle yourself better, you might be able to hear more of what they were saying. Though you couldn’t see what you looked like, the motions you where making in order to move brought images of beached sea animals to mind, you would have laughed if your life wasn’t on the line. 

However instead of gaining more information about the conversation your kidnappers were having, you simply alerted them to you being awake. The voices hushed abruptly, as you heard heavy footsteps come ever closer to you. Suddenly and immense amount of heat spread across your arm, as a hand connected with it and started stroking your flesh, it felt as if your body was physically rejecting the touch of this unseen assailant. As soon as the heat had spread across your arm and reached the fingers of the attacker, it was quickly pulled away, with a violent hiss. 

“Bitch” The distorted voice sneered. Causing you to once again think that no matter what these faceless black creatures might look and sound like, they were still human. And you could fight a human. 

Your brief moment on victory was cut short when a heavy foot connected excruciatingly with your stomach, causing bile to sputter out of your mouth and all the air to be taken forcefully from your lungs. Causing your breath to become nothing more than strained gasps of pain. 

Tears started streaming down your face from behind the blindfold. You had never been in so much pain or fear before in your life. In the moment you wish you could go back the the crowds of faceless black people rushing around the front of the convention hall, you realised that was not hell, that wasn’t even close to hell. You felt in the deepest pit of your stomach that you had not yet experienced hell. You knew that the sole purpose of the three kidnappers was to take you to hell, any way they could. The worst was yet to come. 

As you laid on the floor panting for air, you heard the two other figures join the one at your side. They were chastising the other one for kicking you, though you couldn’t understand why. If they were going to hurt you anyway, why was kicking you a bad thing? At that same moment one of the three bent down and pulled the blindfold from your eyes, causing you to wince at the sudden adjustment. From your surroundings you could tell you where in an old warehouse, though god knows where it was exactly. It could have been in Timbuktu for all you knew. Besides it didn’t matter, there was no chance of you escaping the warehouse, not whilst tied up like some prized deer. The only discernible feature was an intense white stage light beamed directly into your face, giving the three figures in front of you a sickening white glow. You were still unable to make out any features, they continued to be nothing more than shadowy nightmares. But now you knew they had a voice, now you would push aside your fear, if they were going to kill you, the least they could do is give you answers. 

“W…what do you want from me?” You glared furiously at them causing the one you assumed kicked you to laugh out loud, and leaned back down to your face, his predatory grin returning as he got as close as he possibly could. 

“What do we want? Why, to show you our pet.” He cackled like a maniac, chilling you to the very core. 

And that’s when you heard it, the low gravely rumble of a animal. You tried searching for it, but the ropes refused to budge, you couldn’t move. You couldn’t find the beast in the shadows. The low roar of the hidden monster permeated the air. How had you not heard it before now? Had it been watching you this whole time? You knew the answer to that question without having to really ask. 

“It’s time.” The third figure announced.

The other two nodded, joining their third member just to the side of you, just far enough away so you could no longer see them. With a thunk the stage light went out as it was knocked to the floor. 

“Look at it.” All three voices said in unison. 

Your gaze started to travel upward as the monster emerged from the shadows. You gagged as you laid eyes upon the beast. It truly was an abomination. It had the front legs and torso of a wolf, and the tail of a serpent. It’s head was of avian descent, like a raven or a crow, but where the beak should be was a distorted mouth full of canine teeth. But the most disturbing part was black bulbous yet hollow eyes that bore directly into your own. It felt as if it was devouring your mind, body and soul. 

It started lurching forwards, coming ever closer to you. You knew this was it, it was going to kill you. You wanted to fight, to kick, scream and punch your way out. To run as far and as fast as you could, but it was no use, not only were the ropes still there, but the more the monster, no, demon, looked at you, the less will you had to survive. There was nothing you could do but lay your head back down and wait for death. 

As you started to close your eyes, and accept your fate, you saw a figure appear behind the demon. A man with scruffy blonde hair and a tan trench coat. He was yelling your name, begging you to fight, but it was too late. The demon devoured you. 

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Gasping for breath you opened your eyes. Sunlight was coming in through the closed curtains of your hotel room. Taking a deep breath rubbed your face, feeling the sweat wipe off from your brow. To say you had slept very poorly would be an understatement, you cursed yourself for looking at the pictures Zed had drawn right before bed. Those dreams had not been pleasant. You’d always had very vivid nightmares as a child, but this was something new, this was beyond vivid and crashing head first into hyper-realism. You made a note to yourself, that after all this business was done, you were going to burn those god forsaken pictures. 

Stretching out in bed you grabbed your phone from the bedside table. The harsh glow of your screen coming to life made you wince as you checked the time. The clock read 7:00am. Groaning you put the phone back down, you had planned on sleeping in today. After all the con was over and there was nowhere you needed to be, but you knew Constantine wanted to get to work as quickly as possible today. You thought back to your nightmare, and seeing Constantine behind that demon shouting your name, it made you wonder if there was anything he could do to save you. You shook the thought from your head as you glanced to the seats he was sleeping on, however he was nowhere to be found, his bag and coat were still in here so you thought maybe he had gone out for a fag or something. Either way it meant you got to sleep for a few minutes more, as you smiled to yourself and rolled over in an attempt to get more comfortable. 

When your head landed on the other side of the pillow, before you could even blink, you came face to face with a smirking, bemused, bed headed John Constantine. 

“Morning luv’” He smiled, his voice husky from sleep. 

He was laying lazily on the other side of the bed, wrapped up in your blankets. As you stared at him incredulously your brain managed ask one question.

“Constantine! What the hell?!”


End file.
